


A Missing Piece

by pedanticsoothsayer



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:08:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7643893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pedanticsoothsayer/pseuds/pedanticsoothsayer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warden-Commander Amell’s research into a cure for the Taint brings her to Kirkwall, where she has some questions for the friend of a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Missing Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Something that will eventually be part of my larger Warden piece, if I ever get around to it, and directly leads to another piece I’m working on.

Lianore rapped on the door, head lowered just far enough to conceal her face beneath her cloak. The looters and robbers had begun their late-night prowl, while the handful of remaining elves in the city were barricaded in their homes. A few stragglers wandered the otherwise emtpy streets, giving the hooded woman sidelong glances as they passed; Even all the disarray in the world couldn’t allow an outsider to pass unseen through an alienage.

 

She leaned into her staff, relying on it more and more for the support it provided outside of battle as the years had passed. The main shaft was worn where her hands rested and grooved in the places she dug her nails when nervous. Wrapping her hands around it firmly, she tensed when she thought she heard footsteps. More concerned about the harm that would come to a potential attacker than herself, she turned on her heel so that her weapon was prominently displayed. From the corner of her eye, she saw a mouse dart under a stack of crates. She dropped her hands to her sides and shook her head at her own foolishness.

For a moment, Lianore wondered if she had found the right house. Few buildings were left standing in the slums after months of rioting, so it wasn’t as if she had many others to confuse it with. She placed two fingers to the door and listened closely this time. A distant ringing hummed in her ears until she drew back, recognizing the distortion in the space around her that resonated through her body. Now that she sensed the wards for herself, she resigned to wait rather than bother any other doorsteps.

 

Several minutes passed before the Warden-Commander knocked again.

Officially, she was in the city under the pretense of the politicking her position as the King’s adviser demanded. Her presence was a gesture of support for Kirkwall’s interim government, with a twist of biter irony. The last anything anyone wanted was more mages, which was precisely why she had volunteered. At least initially.

She had never set foot in the city her family had risen to and fallen from prominence in before. Had her situation been less urgent, she may have felt sorry for never visiting before Kirkwall had erupted into a deluge of political and social instability. Or more-so than usual. From what her cousin had said, there wasn’t much of a difference between the present and the years preceding the mage rebellion. The skyline might be a bit different, she had admitted, but any apparent flaws were as they had always been. Just less discreet.

After the third knock, Lianore heard a faint voice on the other side of the door. Unable to make out what it was saying, Lianore stated her purpose. “I was hoping you could help me,” she began, making her staff as clear as possible, in case the apostate needed more assurance of her good intentions. “A woman called Hawke sent me here.”

At the sound of the familiar surname, the Warden heard no less than three deadbolts being undone before the door swung open, revealing a lithe elven woman. Deep circles lined her eyes as she scanned their surroundings, to make certain no one else was there. Her gaze lingered on the Warden’s uniform for a moment before motioning for her to follow.

“Come inside, quickly now. It’s no good saying that name aloud these days.”

 

Lianore ducked beneath the mantel and followed.

 

The hovel was in no worse shape than the rest of the city. Cracks in the walls were stuffed with rags in the places where wood had splintered or stone had been worn away. The windows were boarded up, making sure that the room was dark in the dead of night. When she stepped on a creaky floorboard and a dozen pairs of glowing eyes turned to face her, she realized why the home’s owner had taken such lengths to keep her walls secure.

  
The small room was filled with other elves. Most were still sleeping, but some had woken up to see what the fuss was about. They shared tattered blankets, huddled together all over the room.

The fear on their faces, the confusion, was sickeningly similar. Her stomach ached as she thought back further than she cared to, to a room with cages filled with nearly identical expressions staring up at her.

She took a little solace in the fact that for these refugees, that same horror had already passed. What safety the apostate’s home afforded them was just enough to sleep.

 

“Excuse us a moment, please. Oh dear,” the elven woman said, stepping lightly over the people resting on the floor.

Lianore followed, relying on the dim light of the eyes following her to make it to the room her host was walking towards.

 

An unmade bed rested in one corner of the windowless room, while a set of roughly made table and chairs were in the other. A hearth was set up, opposite the chairs, where a small kitchen was set up. In the center of the room, a large drape covered a piece in the center of the room. Lianore’s eyes lingered there before turning back around to get a more formal look at the woman she meant to speak to.

In the light from the hearth, the circles around her eyes were more drastic, but now Lianore could see the distinct tattoos that adorned the elf’s tawny face. The patterns were intricate, while her large, green eyes were cheery despite the late hour.

The elf closed the door behind them with a sigh, but perked up almost immediately. “Can I get you something?” she asked, already halfway to the cupboard.

“It’s not necessary,” Lianore said, but she had already placed a kettle over the hearth.

“Things have been tight lately, with the refugees and all, but a friend of Hawke’s is a friend of mine. Oh! I’m called Merrill, by the way. Though I suppose Hawke would have mentioned that.”

Lianore nodded and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You may call me Lianore. I apologize for the late hour, but I was afraid people would ask questions if they saw me come in daylight.”

 

The dark-haired woman turned and looked at Lianore again, now that they were in better light. “A Warden!” she squeaked when she noticed the lyrium-blue armor beneath the traveling cloak, almost dropping a plate.

“I’m not here on Warden business,” Lianore said, quickly. “Not officially, at least.”

“If you’re here about the rebellion,” she nodded at the staff Lianore had placed against the wall, “then I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Merrill pulled two cups from the cupboard and set them on the table. She prodded the kettle a bit, before turning back to face Lianore. “The elves of Kirkwall need me most right now.”

“I understand, but I’m not here to talk about the rebellion either.”

Though she appeared to be confused, Merrill did not press further. Instead, she took the steaming kettle and poured out a fragrant tea. She gestured for Lianore to sit and handed a cup to her.

“Ma serannas,” Lianore said, taking the cup and pausing. “I said that correctly, right?”

Merrill’s wide, green eyes lit up. “You speak Elvhen?”

“I’ve picked up a bit here and there from my Dalish lieutenant, though I’m very hesitant with using any. I suspect they’re mostly curse words.”

“I hadn’t thought a human would bother which such things.”

“As a Warden, I represent the people of Thedas. I’ve done my best to pick up what languages and traditions I can, but I must admit my elvish is rather lacking.”

“I haven’t met many Wardens, but the ones I have were rather grumpy,” Merrill admitted.

Lianore laughed gently into her tea.

“But not you!” she added quickly.

“It’s alright,” Lianore said reassuringly. “Your assessment isn’t far off. I’ve had a long time to practice not being grumpy.”

 

“Then, I’m not really sure what Hawke might’ve told you, but I’d like to help however I can.”

“When I told her about my own mission, she mentioned your... project.”

Merrill stopped mid-sip and her eyes grew even wider. “What did she say?” she asked cautiously.

Sensing her sudden panic, Lianore chose her words carefully. “She told me that you were working on restoring a Tainted elvhen artifact.”

The lithe woman rose from her seat and walked to the oddity in the center of the room. Lianore followed. Merrill pulled the sheet down, causing both women to erupt into a fit of coughing. Once the dust settled and both of them could breathe, they stared at the fixture.

“It’s an-”

“An Eluvian,” Lianore whispered, wasting no time tracing her finger over the grimy surface of the mirror.

“You know of them?”

“I’ve seen one before.” Lianore paused, offering no explanation of her vivid memory of a raven-haired woman disappearing through a gossamer curtain. “But this... It was corrupted, correct?”

Merrill nodded.

“Please, tell me everything.”

“Before our clan came north,” Merrill began, lacing her fingers together, “two scouts found it. They, well-” She stopped and restarted. “We knew it was corrupted. The Keeper, she-”

Her tale was full of starting and stopping as she redirected around clearly painful memories. She pushed on, telling Lianore about how she recovered the larger pieces and set to work repairing the fragments... and purifying them.

“But how is that even possible?” Lianore cut in.

Looking away, Merrill pulled down her sleeves.

 

Lianore’s heart was racing, even if she had only confirmed what she already knew.

 

“Some things are worth the price we pay,” Lianore said gravely.

Merrill nodded, understanding.

“Even that you were able to come this far without precedent, without the existence of written instruction is remarkable.”

“There used to be, tomes with this kind of knowledge, but it was lost. Some...one told me. We lost nearly everything when Arlathan fell. I do my best to put together what I can, with what I have.”

 

Lianore took one last look at the Eluvian. “You’re doing good work here.”

“Wait, that’s all?”

Lianore nodded, picking up her staff. “As for the matter of repayment for your time, I won’t be in the city long, but I can send some men under my command this way. At least then you can ensure those in your care make it to safety.”

“I would be in your debt.”

Lianore clasped her hands around Merrill’s. “Trust me, it is I who am indebted to you.” She paused in thought. “To think of it, perhaps I could send you someone who may know about that book as well.”

The elves were beginning to wake, as pockets of sunlight broke through the places Merrill hadn’t been able to patch. As dawn broke, Merrill escorted Lianore to the door. They departed with silent nods and Lianore pulled her hood back over her head, disappearing in the labyrinth of Lowtown.

  
  



End file.
